WikiLeaks revenge attacks cost PayPal £3.5 million

New Delhi: Hacking collective Anonymous caused multimillion-pound losses to many major firms like PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, Ministry of Sound, the British Recorded Music Industry and the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry with a series of cyber attacks, in revenge for the counterattack against WikiLeaks, a court has heard.

The self-styled hackers named the operation as `Operation Payback`. The group Anonymous is accused of targeting companies who opposed internet piracy but later attacked PayPal after it refused to process WikiLeaks payments.

At the time of hack, anyone who tried to visit the sites was greeted with the message: “You’ve tried to bite the Anonymous hand. You angered the hive and now you are being stung.”

It is estimated that the operation caused losses worth more than £3.5m at PayPal and also led to sites belonging to MasterCard and the recording industry to go offline forcefully.

Three members of the group have admitted their role in the conspiracy.